Buying used speakers from a private seller for local pickup.


I’m looking to buy a large pair of floorstanding speakers from a friend in Canada.  I’m going to drive up to pick them up. What do I need to do to bring used gear back into the US?  I’d appreciate any advice!
dmc626365

Showing 2 responses by sfar

If the speakers were made anywhere besides the U.S. or Canada (or any other NAFTA country) you might be required to play an import duty. So it would be important to be able to have evidence of the place of manufacture. Of course, customs agents have very little to go on to establish a country of origin or a value if they do think you need to pay duty. It can be a frustrating process if they want to pursue it so have as  much documentation as you can, and be prepared to be creative in your answers.
My comments are based on only one experience, driving some built-in-England ProAc speakers from Vancouver Island to Seattle. No way to sneak them in since they were quite visible in the back of my car. What followed was probably half an hour of having an agent look through volumes that looked like the Manhattan phone book trying to identify the speakers and determine the duty. Somewhat arbitrarily we finally settled on $50 and I was on my way. Just a bill of sale might be all that's required, or anything else you can find to establish the age and value.